Chapter 8

The Supreme Sect is located in the northern part of Zhong Zhou. While it is already spring in the southern regions, the north has just seen its first clear day after the snow has melted.

Amid the swirling clouds, nine towering peaks stood scattered with natural elegance. The mountains rose and fell, with snow covering their summits and evergreen pine forests stretching below. In the sky above, wisps of mist trailed like long ribbons pulled by the wind.

The spiritual ship landed on one of the highest peaks. Before them was a vast plaza, where nine towering stone pillars stood in perfect order, surrounding a black-and-white patterned Bagua formation. In the center of the plaza was a massive bronze cauldron, with three incense sticks burning halfway through. The red embers, buried under ash, faintly hinted that they were still alight.

He Gui noticed Lin Du’s gaze lingering on the three incense sticks and explained, “This is the main peak of the sect. The three incense sticks are offerings to the heavens, the ancestors, and the Dao.”

“Now that you’ve entered our Supreme Sect, it’s only proper that you first meet our Sect Master.”

As soon as He Gui finished speaking, two figures appeared in front of the plaza. Along with the scent of the incense, there was also a faint aroma of sauerkraut stewed with white meat in the air.

Lin Du thought she must be starving, otherwise, why would she smell such a thing? She looked up.

One figure had elegant cloud-like hair, a delicate face, and an aura of refined grace. She wore a light purple robe adorned with silver lotus patterns that shimmered under the sunset, radiant as spring blossoms. The other figure matched Lin Du’s image of an elder more closely: dressed in simple white robes that weren’t purely white but embellished with intricate silver butterfly patterns. Her expression was cold, with a small red mole at the corner of her eye adding a touch of unique allure.

They appeared as goddesses descended to earth—if one ignored the fact that the woman in purple was holding an oily spatula, and the woman in white was clutching a bunch of freshly washed green leafy vegetables dripping with water.

What pure and unpretentious immortals.

Lin Du took a step back. Had she entered the wrong sect?

【No, dear, you haven’t entered the wrong sect.】

“Greetings, Sect Master,” He Gui cupped his hands and bowed.

The others followed suit, but the beautiful woman laughed and said, “Enough with the formalities. It’s just a few of us here, no need to pretend to be so serious.”

Lin Du was stunned. This sect was not what she had imagined.

The woman in purple glanced around, her gaze landing on Lin Du. “Where did you pick up this little one? Poor thing. Tian Wu, make sure to take her to see Elder Jiang Liang later. You can take any necessary herbs from the sect’s storeroom.”

“And if we don’t have them… well, see if our fertile soil on the back mountain can grow them. If not, you might have to make a few trips to the secret realm. After all, our Supreme Sect’s motto is self-sufficiency.”

He Gui’s gentle demeanor faded by half as he frowned. “Senior Sister Sect Master, leave the children with some illusions, will you?”

The woman in purple chuckled, “They’re already here; where could they possibly run off to?”

The new disciples exchanged glances, all equally bewildered.

“Since there are only four new disciples this year, you two can split them evenly.”

Elders Ju Yuan and Cang Li exchanged glances, then both turned their eyes toward Lin Du, as if she were a freshly roasted chicken leg.

Lin Du: …The atmosphere suddenly became tense.

“The ones who went to farm haven’t returned yet, so I’ll be cooking tonight,” Feng Chao said with a smile. “Enough of the formalities; we’re all family here. It’s getting late, and your cultivation levels are still shallow. You must be hungry, so let’s eat first and talk afterward.”

Suddenly, a voice echoed through the plaza, “Let the child come directly to Luo Ze after dinner.”

Luo Ze was eternally frozen, a place even low-level cultivators couldn’t endure. Only those with an ice spiritual root could stay there. The call could only be for Lin Du.

Feng Chao paused, then responded, looking at Lin Du, “It seems that the Immortal Lord Yan Ye, who has been in seclusion in the forbidden area, wants to take you as a disciple. He also has an innate ice spiritual root and was the last disciple accepted by my master before his ascension.”

Elder Ju Yuan’s eyelid twitched, his gaze suddenly turning strange. He thought, “I wanted you as my disciple, but you might become my junior sister?”

The group proceeded to the dining hall, where the table quickly filled with dishes: sauerkraut stewed with white meat, iron pot stewed goose, a large pot of spiritual chick stewed with fresh mushrooms, and mountains of steamed buns and rice. The white-robed woman hurried back into the kitchen, saying, “One more dish to go, please wait.”

Lin Du took a deep breath. Something wasn’t right with this Supreme Sect.

Something was really not right.

But… the food smelled so good.

The group sat down at the table, and soon the children’s eyes lit up.

“It seems the Sect Master used low-grade spiritual beasts for your sake today,” He Gui explained. “For cultivators like you who have just entered the Dao, the spiritual energy is just right.”

If they ate spiritual beasts too far above their level, the excess spiritual energy could cause their bodies to explode.

“This is low-grade spiritual pork stewed with sauerkraut we pickled ourselves. Our Supreme Sect has excellent soil quality. The sauerkraut was pickled recently. And this is Shu Yan; we only eat this during major festivals. It’s to celebrate you new disciples joining the sect.”

The three elders began serving the children, using bowls larger than Lin Du’s face.

Lin Du modestly said, “I’m frail and don’t eat much. Just a bite will do.”

He Gui nodded, then firmly pressed down the heaping rice in the bowl and handed it to her, “Here, one bite.”

Lin Du: …Fair enough.

After a cup of tea, the frail and thin youth in green robes was holding the bowl in one hand, chopsticks in the other, with a large goose leg and a richly sauced chicken leg in the bowl.

By then, three-quarters of the heavily packed rice had already been eaten.

Lin Du ate quickly, alternating between bites of meat and large mouthfuls of rice, as if following a pre-programmed routine. Yet her eating was graceful, quiet except for the sounds of chewing and swallowing. Though she appeared unhurried, she was eating fast.

The other three disciples watched as the “frail and small eater” finished a bowl of rice, two legs of meat, and half a pot of sauerkraut stew, then calmly set down her chopsticks… and picked up a steamed bun.

The elders looked at Lin Du with affection. “Look at this poor child; she’s suffered so much in the mortal world. No wonder she’s so thin—thirteen years without ever being full.”

“Elders, aren’t you eating?”

“We don’t need to eat. Once you reach the Hui Yang Realm, you can directly absorb energy from the heavens and earth for sustenance, so eating becomes unnecessary.”

In the Supreme Sect, even the weakest of the elders had already reached the fourth stage of the Hui Yang Realm, and the Sect Master had even advanced to the fifth stage, the Qian Yuan Realm.

Finally, after finishing a bowl of rice and a steamed bun as large as half her face, Lin Du put down her chopsticks and sincerely praised, “The Sect Master’s cooking is truly delicious.”

The ingredients in the cultivation world were far more flavorful than those in the mortal realm, and the Supreme Sect, with its rich spiritual energy and fertile land, produced ingredients imbued with natural spiritual resonance. Lin Du patted her stomach, realizing she might have overindulged.

Feng Chao’s eyes gleamed with amusement, though the disciple behind her hesitated to speak.

“Junior sister, won’t anything happen if she eats this much?”

Feng Chao paused, “Like what?”

“Like… she might advance to the next level.”

Everyone stared in shock at the green-robed youth seated among them. They watched as she rubbed her stomach, instinctively channeling the spiritual energy from her overfull stomach into her central channel. The energy circulated continuously, eventually converging in her dantian, forming a faint white glow.

The white light grew, and her initially bloated stomach gradually eased as the feeling of over-satiation dissipated. Yet Lin Du still showed no signs of stopping.

He Gui Zhenren: “See? I told you that the geniuses of our sect find absorbing spiritual energy easier than eating or drinking!”